The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1887-02-10

ulc, anu tney Will Soon run against sneeEluB
opposition. For Q compromise Christian
character, an easy time now, but for con-
secrated behavior, grimsce and caricature.
For the body, thanks to the God of free
America, there are now no swords or fiery
stakes, but for the souls Of thousands of
the good, in fgurative sense, rack and
glbbet and TorquemadA The symbol OF
the domestic and social and private and
public suffering of q great multitude Of
Gods dear children, pillars Of smoke.
But as we look over the story Of those
who In all ages have suffered for the truth,
while we leave vengeance to the Lord, let
US band together In one solemn vow, one
tremendous oath, after having counted the
host of the mart yrs, that for each one OF
those glorious men and women who died
for the truth an immortal soul shall live,
live with God and live forever.
But, as l already hin ted in the first sen.
tence Of this sermon, nothing can be more
beautiful than the figures Of smoke on a
clear sky. You can see what you will in
the contour of this volatile vapor, now
enchanted castles, now troops of horse
men, now hammered procession, now
winged couriers, now q black angel Of
wrath under spear of the sunshine
turned TO an angel of light, and now from
horizon TO horizon the air is a picture gall
lery filled with master pieces Of which
God is the artist morning clouds OF smoke
born in the sunrise, and evening clouds of
smoke laid in the FURNISHED sepulchers Of
the sunset
The beauty of the TRANSPORTED smoke is
divine symbol of the beauty Of the church.
The fairest of all the fair Is she Do not
call those prosecutors of whom spoke the
church. They are the parasites of the
church, not the church Itself. Her mission
Is to cover the earth with supernatural
gladness; to OPP N all the prison doors; to
balsam all the wounds; TO moss all the
graves to burn up the night m the fire.
place Of d great morning; to change iron
handouts into diamond wristlets; to turn
the whole race around, and, whereas it
faced death, commanding 1t: Right about
face for Heaven" According to the num-
Der of spires Of the churches in all our
cites, towns and neighborhoods are the
good homes, the wealthy pros l,erities and
the pure morals and the happy souls.
Meet me at any depot the world over,
and with my eyes closed take me by the
hand, and lead me 90 that my feet will not
stumble, and without my once looking
down. or looking TO the level, take me TO
some high roof or tower, and let me see
| the tops of the churches, and l will tell
| you the proportion of suicides, of arsons,
| of murders, Of thefts. According as the
churches are numerous are the crimes
few; according as the churches are few
| the crimes are numerous
| The most beautiful organization the
world ever saw or ever will see is the
much-maligned church, the friend OF all
good; the foe of all evil; fair as the moon
and clear as the sun" Beautiful in her
Act ia. ~. 10
heroine of the centuries; the bride of
Christ; the queen Of the nations There
are hundreds of kindly institutions, some
caring for inebriates; some for the Grip
pied; some Tor the lmbecle; some for the
msled; some for the blind, but the church
is the mother of all these kindly institu-
tons, There are asylums-Amcrican or En-
glish, or Scotch, or Irish, or French, or
German or ltalian-but the church spreads
her mantle over all these, and will yet
spread 1t over all nations. Her gates are
beautiful, her songs are beautiful; her
prayers are beautiful; her conversations
are beautiful; her work is beautiful. All
Kings and warriors will yet bow down at
her affairs; all chains Of serfdom be shat
tered against-her doorstep; all nations will
yet follow her leading How amiable are
Thy tabernaclesl How sacred Thy affairs
How glorious Thy aulitoriumsi So grace.
full, 50 aspiring, So grand and rolling on
and rolling on, We cry out in regard to her:
"Who il this that cometh out of the wilder
ness like pillars of smokep
AIen may sesecrate it, as Cromwell did
when he stabbed his cavalry horses in St.
Pau'S cathedral; or break off the image
of Christ, as did the iconoclasts in York
minister; orhurl against it august literary
| \, 1,Nt;
throw, as do some in every community
whose pride and hate and debauchery are
reproved by the ten commandments which
1t thunders, an the sermon on the mount
which it breathcs But it will stand as
long as the earth stands, the same
unique and wonder-working and be-
attic and miraculous thing for which
God decreed it.
You lying and hypOcritiCal world, shut
up those SANDERS about the church OF
Christ, an institution which tar from be-
ing what it ought to be, and never pre-
tending to be perfect, is five hundred
times better than any other institution
that the world ever saw or dreamed of.
The highest honor l have ever had, and
the highest honor / shall ever receive, and
the highest honor l ever want is to have
my name on her records as member. At
her affairs | repented. At her sacraments
! believed lu her service let me die.
From her doors let me be buried. o,
church of God Thou home of the righteous!
Thou harbor from tempcstl Thou refuge
for the wearyl Thou lighthouse of many
nations! Thou type of Heavenl l could
kiss thy very dust with ecstasy Of affec-
ton.
For her my tears shall fall,
For her my prayers ascend,
10 her my tolls and cares be given
Till tolls and cares shall end"
B"Perfumed smoke" says Solomon, in
the words following my text. Not like the
fumes coughed up from the throat OF a
steam pipe or poisoned with the gases Of
chemical factories, or floating in black
wrath from the contiagratons of home
steads or sulphurous from blazing batter
les; but sweet as burning grove Of CHINA
mon, or Jungle Of sassafras, or the odors OF
a temple censor "Who is this that cOmeth
out of the wilderness like pillars OF smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincenseW
Hear it, men and women everywhere, that
the advance Of the genuine church Of
Christ means peace for all nations.
Victor Hugo, in his book entitled "Nine-
ty Three" says: Nothing calmer than
smoke, but nothing more startling. There
are peaceful smokes, and there are evil
ones The thickness and color of line
of smoke make the whole difference be-
tween war and peace, between fraternity
and hatred The whole happiness of man
or his complete misery is sometimes ex-
pressed in this thin vapor which the wind
scatters at win" The great Frenchman
was right; but l 60 further, and say that
as the Kingdom of God advances like pill
lars of smoke, the black volumes belching
from batteries of war and pouring out from
portfolios of ships will vanish from the